Well, a Democrat is in the White House, so that means it's open season on Congressional Investigations of everything Executive. We'll be back into "Executive Power should not be subject to the whims of Congress" season as soon as we have another Republican president.

... yes, work e-mail servers generally keeping indexable backups is definitely evidence of a sinister FBI doom conspiracy and not industry standard for the last two decades for literally every industry in existence.

sammyk:The Director of the CIA is a civilian position. UCMJ does not apply.

(a) The following persons are subject to this chapter:

(1) Members of a regular component of the armed forces, including those awaiting discharge after expiration of their terms of enlistment; volunteers from the time of their muster or acceptance into the armed forces; inductees from the time of their actual induction into the armed forces; and other persons lawfully called or ordered into, or to duty in or for training in the armed forces, from the dates when they are required by the terms of the call or order to obey it.

(2) Cadets, aviation cadets, and midshipman.

(3) Members of a reserve component while on inactive-duty training, but in the case of members of the Army National Guard of the United States or the Air National Guard of the United States only when in Federal Service.

(4) Retired members of a regular component of the armed forces who are entitled to pay.

(5) Retired members of a reserve component who are receiving hospitalization from an armed force.

(6) Members of the Fleet Reserve and Fleet Marine Corps Reserve.

(7) Persons in custody of the armed forces serving a sentence imposed by a court-martial.

(8) Members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Public Health Service, and other organizations, when assigned to and serving with the armed forces.

(9) Prisoners of war in custody of the armed forces.

(10) In time of war, persons serving with or accompanying an armed force in the field.

(11) Subject to any treaty or agreement which the United States is or may be a party to any accepted rule of international law, persons serving with, employed by, or accompanying the armed forces outside the United States and outside the Canal Zone, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.

(12) Subject to any treaty or agreement t which the United States is or may be a party to any accepted rule of international law, persons within an area leased by or otherwise reserved or acquired for use of the United States which is under the control of the Secretary concerned and which is outside the United States and outside the Canal Zone, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.

Also, it's worth mentioning that the Obama administration not only prevented the British victims of American rendition from having their day in court in the US (by invoking the State Secrets doctrine he claimed to find offensive when used by Bush, naturally).

This is frankly despicable behavior. We're not just talking about waterboarding here.

Mr Mohamed's genitals were sliced with a scalpel and other torture methods so extreme that waterboarding, the controversial technique of simulated drowning, "is very far down the list of things they did," the official said.

BullBearMS:Kibbler: This About That: Thing: Who the f*** is so slow they don't assume that the FBI can intercept anything - anything - that goes over the Internet both in history and in real time? The FBI can easily penetrate the military, however slightly.

It used to be illegal, to just trawl everything all the time, and do with it whatever you like. Does this mean it wasn't done before? No. But it was illegal.

All Hail Our Modern Police State

The Obama administration is urging Congress not to adopt legislation that would impose constitutional safeguards on Americans' e-mail stored in the cloud.

Thanks, Obama.

That's not a good idea. I can understand the reluctance to deny the intelligence community what it wants in the midst of the kind of conflict we are in, but I have to part company with the Administration on this. It's just not the direction we want to be moving in. I'm off to fire off an email to the WH, and my congresscritter.

Kibbler:This About That: Thing: Who the f*** is so slow they don't assume that the FBI can intercept anything - anything - that goes over the Internet both in history and in real time? The FBI can easily penetrate the military, however slightly.

It used to be illegal, to just trawl everything all the time, and do with it whatever you like. Does this mean it wasn't done before? No. But it was illegal.

AtlanticCoast63:Petraeus was on active duty when he started boinking Ms. Broadwell. IN THEORY, he could be recalled to active duty and be court-martialed for adultery, but it's damned unlikely - the number of people liable to UCMJ action under that line of reasoning could reach into the tens of thousands.

I don't think Petraeus has the level of political enemies required to make that come to fruition. Then again, the GOP have almost completely turned on him.

incendi:sammyk: The Director of the CIA is a civilian position. UCMJ does not apply.

(a) The following persons are subject to this chapter:

(1) Members of a regular component of the armed forces, including those awaiting discharge after expiration of their terms of enlistment; volunteers from the time of their muster or acceptance into the armed forces; inductees from the time of their actual induction into the armed forces; and other persons lawfully called or ordered into, or to duty in or for training in the armed forces, from the dates when they are required by the terms of the call or order to obey it.

(2) Cadets, aviation cadets, and midshipman.

(3) Members of a reserve component while on inactive-duty training, but in the case of members of the Army National Guard of the United States or the Air National Guard of the United States only when in Federal Service.

(4) Retired members of a regular component of the armed forces who are entitled to pay.

(5) Retired members of a reserve component who are receiving hospitalization from an armed force.

(6) Members of the Fleet Reserve and Fleet Marine Corps Reserve.

(7) Persons in custody of the armed forces serving a sentence imposed by a court-martial.

(8) Members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Public Health Service, and other organizations, when assigned to and serving with the armed forces.

(9) Prisoners of war in custody of the armed forces.

(10) In time of war, persons serving with or accompanying an armed force in the field.

(11) Subject to any treaty or agreement which the United States is or may be a party to any accepted rule of international law, persons serving with, employed by, or accompanying the armed forces outside the United States and outside the Canal Zone, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.

(12) Subject to any treaty or agreement t which the United States is or may be a party to any accepted rule of international law, persons within an area leased by or otherwise reserved or acquired for use of the United States which is under the control of the Secretary concerned and which is outside the United States and outside the Canal Zone, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.

He's not being paid by the military. CIA is not a military organization.

frankmanhog:Well, a Democrat is in the White House, so that means it's open season on Congressional Investigations of everything Executive. We'll be back into "Executive Power should not be subject to the whims of Congress" season as soon as we have another Republican president.

My prediction is that we won't have a two-term democrat with a republican house majority who is not impeached during his second term during my lifetime (1987- ).

Thing: Damned near anything can be stated in such a way that it appears to violate the vague but all-encompassing UCMJ.

Thing: Who the f*** is so slow they don't assume that the FBI can intercept anything - anything - that goes over the Internet both in history and in real time? The FBI can easily penetrate the military, however slightly.

Thing: I'll bet you an internet Gen. Petraeus did not knowingly violate any laws and is guilty, if at all, of bad judgement in his personal life. So shut up unless he gets convicted of something, will ya.